Wow! So far this story has 1,182 hits and 29 reviews! Thank you so much! :D

Sorry for the long wait, but I have to really hit on the homework. Also updates may start to get a little slower once school starts...

Disclaimer: I don't own anything...except for Shen...

The First Blow...

Aang shifted from side to side as his friends finished eating their meal. Now that there was food in his stomach, he no longer felt numb. His muscles ached from the strain of earlier activities. Aang could also feel the wound in his back opening up.

Aang sucked in a breath as he tried to prevent himself from screaming out. Now that his voice was deeper talking felt sort of weird.

Sokka belched loudly. "Alright, now let's get to the good stuff!"

He cracked his muscles expectantly while Suki rolled her eyes beside him. Zuko huffed impatiently.

"We all ready now?"

Toph smirked. "Just get on with it, Sparky. We don't have all day."

Katara sighed. "Well, maybe we should postpone this for tomorrow. I don't think Aang should worry about this. He needs to rest more."

Katara and jumped when she heard Aang's growl beside her. "I can speak for myself!"

Katara flinched as Aang's now yellow eyes pierced her face. "I...I didn't mean..."

Aang placed his fingers on the bridge of his nose as he tried to control himself. "Just tell us what to do Zuko..."

Zuko sighed. "I know you still have a lot of recovering to do. But I'm afraid we're all just going to have to deal with the circumstances, no matter how uncomfortable some of us might be..."

Katara closed her eyes slowly while Toph nodded. Sokka and Suki stared at Zuko sympathetically while Aang just focused on controlling his breathing.

Zuko continued. "So now that Azula has escaped, we're going to have to figure out how to prevent her from destroying the city."

Suki chose this moment to intervene. "Don't you think that sounds kind of...I don't know, a little too dramatic?"

"This is Azula we're talking about. And she is insane! She will destroy everything unless she gets her vengeance."

Sokka raised an eyebrow. "So she wants revenge. Do you think she's after you?"

"I know she's after me. She practically described my death the last time I visited her..."

Sokka shrugged. "It's simple then. We can use Zuko as bait. Then while Azula is distracted Aang swoops in and bam! He delivers the final blow."

Sokka puffed his chest proudly as Suki stared at him.

Katara shook her head. "That's...I think that's cutting it close."

Sokka glared at his sister. "What are you talking about? Aang can just do his avatar thing and we're clear to go."

Zuko nodded. "If we can take Azula's bending, she'll be very vulnerable. Then we'll be able to send her back to prison without a problem."

Toph shrugged. "The plan seems okay. But I don't know if Twinkletoes can control himself long enough to do his avatar thing. Also, do you even know where Azula is?"

Zuko furrowed his brow. "She can't have left the fire nation. It hasn't been that long since the prison break out."

Katara sighed. "When did you say Judis was coming back again?"

"I'm not sure. A messeng was sent to me this morning. He should be here soon."

Aang grimaced as he felt his body heat up as power surged violently within him. "Let's just hope he hurries up. I can't keep this up for much longer..."

Katara glanced at Aang warily. "Perhaps you should rest now..."

Aang glared at her. "My bed is gone, remember?"

"All by your own doing might I add…" Sokka smirked as he said this while Suki sighed beside him.

Toph groaned. "Could you quit talking, snoozles? Your just making everyone feel worse..."

Sokka pouted, offended by the earthbender's comment. "I'm only telling the truth..."

Zuko swiftly sent his hand back into his hair. "Look you guys. I know this may seem difficult, but it's nothing we haven't handled before. This will be over before you know it. Right now most of my top elite guards are on the case. Once they locate Azula, we'll follow the plan from there..."

Katara frowned. "I still think there's too much risk involved in this..."

Zuko got up slowly as he looked around at everyone present. "It may be risky, but right now it's the only plan we got. I'm too tired at the moment to dig any deeper into the situation. After all, I still have a meeting..."

Zuko paused as he glanced warily at Aang. "We still have a meeting."

All Aang could do was give a swift nod. "Yeah...I..I'll be ready."

The airbender coughed loudly, sending some of the remaining drinks flying towards the wall.

Zuko went over to Aang and placed his hand on the airbender's shoulder. "It's okay. I can have some servants clean that up."

Aang nodded and grimaced as he slowly stood up from the table. Seeing Aang's struggle, Zuko offered his hand but the airbender shook his head.

"It's okay. I can get to my room by myself."

Zuko chuckled darkly. "Your room is destroyed, remember?"

Aang glared at Zuko. Then he stubbornly tried to walk past his firebending teacher, but he couldn't control his momentum. With a groan, Aang fell onto the ground. His muscles were starting to ache again as his back tensed.

Zuko looked at Aang for a long moment as the airbender squirmed on the ground. "Would you like some help now?"

Aang grumbled incoherently before nodding his head. Zuko used his hands to support Aang as the young airbender stood back on his feet. Zuko smiled as something mischievous popped into his head.

"Hmmm, it looks like your wounds have opened up again. Since your room is covered in soot, how about you stay in Katara's room for now?"

Both Aang and Katara blushed furiously as Sokka stood up in protest. "What? Zuko have you lost your mind?"

Aang flinched at the tone of Sokka's voice. He knew Sokka had a point, but it still hurt.

Zuko rolled his eyes, or rather his one good eye. "Relax. Katara can heal Aang and help him until Judis gets back. Besides, they're engaged. I think they should have some more quality time together."

Sokka grumbled. "We can't just let him stay with her alone! What if he transforms again?"

Katara glared at her brother. "I can handle myself. I don't need your protection. Besides, if he did turn back into a dragon I think you would be the one screaming your head off!"

Sokka flushed. "That's not the point!"

Toph waved her arm in Sokka's direction. "Let them go. If you're really that afraid then you can just stand guard in the next room over."

Suki nodded. "Right now, Katara is the only one who can help Aang recover."

Sokka muttered something under his breath as he narrowed his eyes at Zuko. "If anything happens, I'm blaming you for this!"

Zuko held up his hands in mock surrender. "Me verses the best boomerang guy around. I guess I'm doomed."

Zuko smirked as Sokka stomped uncontrollably. "Don't mock the power of the boomerang! Besides if I still had my space sword, you would be trembling in fear. I could beat you with a regular sword if I wanted to!"

Zuko smiled as his eyes sparkled dangerously. "Is that a challenge?"

Sokka pointed two fingers at Zuko to emphasize the point.

Katara shook her head at her brother and friend. "I don't want to interrupt the testosterone battle, but don't you have a meeting to attend Zuko?"

Zuko sighed. "Oh, yeah...Darn it! Should I tell the General about my sister?"

Katara shrugged. "You're the fire lord. You tell me."

Zuko swore under his breath. "He is so going to bust me up for this. It's like I'm handing another thing for him to rub in my face."

Aang looked at Zuko with pity. "Don't worry. If we both go I'm sure he won't take out all his frustration on you..."

Zuko looked at the airbender warily. "Do you think you'll be able to do this? If you're still having a hard time controlling yourself, then you don't have to come. I've already seen General Shino a couple of times myself."

Aang glared at Zuko. "That's exactly why I should come."

"Fine. The meeting starts in an hour."

Toph twirled her fingers in an empty cup. "Do you want us to come too?"

Zuko shook his head. "No. Please just leave it to us. General Shino will think we're not serious if we have a bunch of kids at the meeting, no offense."

Toph smirked and Suki shook her head laughing.

Sokka huffed. "Who are you calling kids, kid!"

"I'm seventeen!"

"Exactly."

Zuko and Sokka glared at each other as everyone started laughing around them.

Aang smiled at his friends. The pain was still excruciating. But being here with his family was definitely starting to lift his spirits.

Aang sighed as he thought of his behavior earlier, especially towards Katara. He hated hurting her like that. Even though he couldn't remember the first couple of weeks, he could tell how bad it had been due to everyone's cautious actions.

Aang glanced at Katara who was smiling as Sokka rubbed his fist into Zuko's hair.

He wished it was easy to act around Katara, but now with this new energy inside him all he wanted was to get away from her. If she had been in his room while he was firebending...

Aang gasped in horror of what could have happened as Katara tapped his shoulder. Aang flinched away warily when he noticed it was her.

Katara stared at the floor sadly as she noticed the airbender's reaction. "Uh..so, do you think you're up for a healing session now?"

Aang nodded slowly as he chanted phrases in his head. Don't freak out, don't freak out, don't freak out...

Katara gave Aang a small smile as she took his hand and lead them quietly towards her room.

oooOOooOOooo

Shen was sitting at his desk in his office. He was looking over more maps for the imperial palace. It was quite hard for him to concentrate considering all the customers he had been getting for the past couple of weeks. It was hard for Shen to either bless or curse at his situation.

He needed the money, but right now he had to focus on finding a way into the palace. Shen groaned as he heard someone coming into the store.

Trying to put out his syrupy voice, Shen walked in through the back. "Welcome. How may I help you this evening?"

Shen frowned when he saw the man in front of him laughing. He had to work hard to regain his composure. "Is something wrong?"

The man smiled rubbing tears out of his eyes. "Man, you sounded so wrong."

Shen snarled as he muttered something under his breath. "Jack..."

"Yep, the one and only. So, how's the report going?"

Shen glared. "I finished that. Just have to interpret this map..."

Jack smiled. "I can do that for you. The gang is waiting by the palace like you told them to."

Shen nodded as he led Jack to his office. Jack spotted the map and looked at it eagerly.

"Quite a beauty, the palace. Has some of the best construction work since before Ozai's time..."

Jack's smile disappeared as he noticed Shen's facial expression. "Hey, you okay?"

Shen growled. "Nothing."

Jack glanced at the map again before standing up. He tilted his head back and placed his hands at his side. "What are we doing Shen?"

"What do you mean?"

Jack sighed as he lowered his head. "We used to be best friends you know. I thought it was going to be me and you against the entire world..."

Shen just stared dully at the other man. "Get to the point."

"Well, I think you've forgotten your priorities. Remember when we were kids and we talked about going into the army? How we were going to serve our country to make our dad's proud? What happened to that?"

Shen swallowed evenly. "What are you saying, Jack?"

"When we first started this, we were doing this to return Ozai to the throne. To save our country's honor. To show the world how great the fire nation truly is."

Jack sucked in a breath. "But now, now it's just about us. We've been doing this for five years, Shen, and all we do is terrorize other's and force people to join. We've been trying to gain a reputation with our fellow citizens and let me tell you, it's pretty bad."

Shen turned his back towards Jack. "We don't need the people to like us. Not everyone liked Ozai, but they showed him respect. We should hope to achieve the same."

Jack shook his head. "Now all we do is bring harm to our people. Where's the honor in that, Jack?"

Shen snarled. "We serve and honor the Phoenix King!"

"Oh, we do? Because all I here is Azula this and Azula that. What is she doing here, Shen? She'll ruin everything for us! You know she's a tyrant and thirsty for power! She will betray us all!"

Shen smiled cruelly. "By the time our missions finished, she won't be here to betray us."

Jack couldn't help slamming his palm into his face. "You actually think YOU of all people can defeat her?"

The comment made Shen snap. "Show some respect for your superiors, Jack! Of course I'll defeat her. She's a complete mental case! I just have to wait for the right moment to strike-"

Jack interrupted him. "She'll eat you alive! Azula is even more powerful than her father. This decision will lead us all to our dooms!"

Shen huffed as he tried to prevent himself from blasting Jack through the wall. "We still need her, in order to complete our mission..."

"Yeah, you're getting pretty damn confident about this. First the avatar, then the fire lord, and now her? You've let this get to your head!"

Shen was shaking furiously, his hands glowing red. "Well I don't see anyone else coming up with ideas! Do you have a better solution, Jack? Or are you just going to stand there like the lazy bastard you are?"

Jack grimaced as he felt Shen's words pierce him in the gut. "Look, I'll go through with this but only because I promised I wouldn't back out. But you better take a second look and think about why we did this in the first place!"

Jack huffed as he walked away, running his hand through his course, rough hair. Shen growled and stood still leaning up against the wall.

"Stupid bastard..."

Shen grit his teeth as an unwelcomed memory began to resurface...

Shen smiled as Jack wrestled him to the ground. Despite being seven, Jack was pretty tall for his age. Shen had always envied his friend for this, but he would never admit it.

"Ha, I win again. Face it Shen, you're going to have to surrender."

Shen did a low fire kick, tripping Jack. "Never!"

The two boys rolled over in the grass, breathing heavily. Jack looked at Shen with awe. "I wish I could fire bend. It's not fair!"

Shen smirked. "It's perfectly fair. Besides you're the only one who's allowed to train with swords."

"So? How else am I supposed to defend myself when I can't firebend?"

"Use your head."

Jack huffed. "Yeah right..."

Before Shen could retort, a young women ran up to him. "Shen , the mistress wants you. Oh, and she wants you to, Jack."

Jack and Shen both shrugged as they got up and ran over into the house.

Shen's mother was smiling at the boys as they entered the living room, but Shen noticed that her eyes looked sad.

"I have some...pretty bad news to tell you boys."

Jack and Shen glanced at each other before sitting softly on the floor.

"I never wanted to tell you something like this...but...it seems...," a deep breath, "Shen, your father...he was wounded in battle."

Shen felt something stir in the pit of his stomach. "He's...hurt?"

Shen's mother started crying. "They said the wound was fatal."

Shen gasped as Jack placed his hands on the young boy's shoulders.

"Also, I'm afraid lieutenant Lee won't be coming back anytime soon. They say he got lost in the middle of a raid and no one's found him since..."

Jack swallowed loudly, tears dripping down the side of his face. "Oh..." was all he could manage to say.

Shen's mother looked at Jack with pity. "I'm so sorry, Jack. I know your mother passed away a while too. If it's okay you can stay with us since your uncle hasn't arrived yet..."

Jack nodded mutely as Shen glared at his mom incredulously. He was very sad for Jack of course but he felt like his mom was giving Jack more attention then was needed. For all they know, Jack's father could still be alive. It was Shen who was truly losing his father.

Shen's mother dismissed the boys to their rooms.

Shen was pouting a little as he tried to keep his tears at bay. Still he couldn't be rude to his friend, even if Jack was being a little dramatic...

"I'm sorry about this, Jack..."

Jack stared at Shen. "You know what, Shen. Now that my parents are gone, you guys are all that I have left."

Shen shrugged. "It least your uncle is coming."

Jack grabbed Shen suddenly into a hug. "Thanks Shen. You'll always be my friend no matter what."

Shen sighed and accepted the hug with a grunt. "Right..."

Shen slammed his fist into the wall, causing some debris to fall onto his feet.

"That bastard..." he muttered again.

oooOoOOoooo

Aang winced as the water ran all over his back. "A little higher…"

Katara raised her hands slowly up Aang's back letting the water seep into his scarred pores.

Aang clenched and unclenched his fists, his breathing rising. He was sweating a lot also as his legs tensed from sitting to long. His voice rose up an octave as the water continued glowing behind him.

"Okay, I…I think that's good now."

Katara shook her head. "Just let me continue this for a few more minutes and then we'll take a break." Aang nodded as his body tensed. He was trying to hold back his urge to run away.

She continued healing his back for five minutes before he collapsed onto her bed, panting.

Katara rubbed her forehead as she felt sweat dripping from her brow. "That was...good so far. A few more days of this and your back should be healed up quite nicely."

Katara looked into Aang's eyes and saw that they were yellow again. She sighed. "Do you want me to go away now?"

Aang shook his head quickly. "No. I just...need a minute..."

Katara nodded and stepped back to give Aang some space. Before she could move though, she felt Aang's tight grip on her arm.

Katara gasped as she heard Aang's deep voice from behind. "Don't...leave..."

"I wasn't going to."

The grip on her arm relaxed as she sat on the edge of her bed timidly.

Aang slowly sat up and lifted one of his legs so he could lean on his knee. "Ugh, it feels like my throat is burning..."

"Maybe you just need a glass of water. I'll get you some."

Aang was about to protest but the waterbender was already gone.

Aang sighed as he ran his hand up through his dark, black hair. His hair had grown longer throughout the weeks. It was nearly at his shoulders now. I'm going to have to cut this soon...

Aang shuddered as a memory hit him out of the blue...

He was screaming. It least he could tell that much. As Aang looked around he noticed that he wasn't really in control of his body. He could see himself firebending at Zuko as Katara tried to calm him down. Sokka was trying to help in the background, but his clothes got caught on fire forcing him to head down the stairs.

As Zuko continued to try to calm Aang down, Katara was trying to heal his back from behind. Aang nearly shouted when he saw himself kick Katara from behind. She slammed into the wall opening up a long cut that had already been healed on her arm. Blood was running down from her forehead and was starting to seep into her top.

Aang couldn't do anything but watch as he saw himself start a blaze that spread throughout the entire floor...

Suddenly Aang's eyes opened as he fell off his bed with a groan. He could feel something hurting in the pit of his chest as he panted.

He was shocked that he had been capable of doing such destruction. But to see the girl he loved getting hurt like that...

Aang was starting to have a panic attack as he felt the muscles in his arms pulse.

Katara had just entered the room when she witnessed the spectacle. "Aang! Are you alright? Here drink this. It should help."

Aang stared at the cup of water and quickly grabbed it, drinking it all in one gulp. He slammed the cup onto the floor, shattering the glass.

Katara jumped. "Aang, please don't do that! We're starting to run out of cups..."

Aang looked into her eyes and stood up painfully. "Katara, I'm so sorry..."

Katara shrugged. "I'm fine. It's Zuko who's going to be mad if we keep losing-"

Before she could finish, Aang pulled her into a hug. Katara blushed lightly as Aang ran his hands through her hair.

"I'm going to make this right. I promise," he said in a deep voice.

Katara sighed into his arms. "Don't worry. It's not your fault."

Aang shook his head. "I can't believe how much pain you had to go through for me..."

Katara pushed him back so that he could see her face. "I'm not mad at you. Mistakes happen. How else are you supposed to act? You have a dragon inside you for crying out loud!"

Aang lowered his head in shame. "I wish there was some way I could make it up to you..."

Katara smiled. "Just get better. That's all I want."

Aang gave her a sad smile. Then he lightly pressed his lips against hers.

"I guess I can do that."

Katara smiled again. "You should probably get some sleep now. Since your back is patched up you should be able to rest with some peace."

Aang nodded. "Thanks, Katara."

Aang walked back over to her bed and jumped into it. Katara chuckled. "You're going to have to stop doing that too if you ever want those wounds to heal."

Aang gave her a soft laugh in return before turning over on his side. Once he had fallen asleep Katara went out and closed the door softly.

ooOOOooOOooo

A guard was standing by the gateway in front of a path that led to the imperial palace. He yawned abruptly. Being an elite, he had to stay alert for any trespassers. But it had been quite banal for a few months now. The guard was wondering for the second time that day if he should risk taking a nap.

Suddenly the guard lifted his head up when he noticed something moving in the bushes nearby. The guard quickly took up a defensive stance as his hands heated up.

"Who goes there?"

Someone stepped out of the bush.

The guard froze in his position. The person had long black hair that swayed in the breeze. Their skin was as white as paper and their nails were long and sharp. The guard could have sworn he saw a smile on those lips, but otherwise the person wasn't speaking.

The guard glared at the stranger. "I'll ask one more time. Who goes there?"

The person suddenly brought their legs in for a kick. The guard rolled over before shooting a barrage of orange flames at the intruder.

"Leave at once!"

The person paid him no mind as she started making a circular motion with her fingers. Electricity cackled around the person, making a wide circle as thunder roared in the distance.

The guard stopped attacking again as he saw the electricity surging everywhere. Before he could utter a single word, the electricity was shooting towards him. It hit him square in the chest, blasting him through the gates. The guard let out a final moan before collapsing in a heap.

Azula smiled beneath her long bangs as she motioned the others hiding behind her that the coast was clear.

One of Shen's men came running and stood beside Azula. "Okay, all we need to do is take out the rest them around the perimeter, and then the next phase of the plan can begin. Are you ready, Fire lord Azula."

Azula gave him a wide smile...

I figured I'd end the chapter here since it's starting to get kind of long. Judis should be back in the next chapter along with a new OC I'm making.

Since I've gone over ten chapters, I'm going to start making previews of the next ones from now on! Helps keep you excited for the new ones, yes? :) When I do this {} it means I'm skipping to a different scene...

Preview from chapter 12...

Aang was pacing around until he spotted the red dragon rising before him.

Aang sighed. "Look, I know you're angry about something, but we have to work together on this. It's my body too you know."

The Dragon lowered its head towards Aang. The airbender sighed again before placing his hands on the dragon's nose.

Aang gasped as visions immediately started running through his head.

{}

Zuko glared at Judis. "What are you talking about? You mean you've been gone all this time just to find some crazy spirit healer?"

Judis smiled. "Not just any spirit healer. This man has been blessed by the spirits and is respected in his profession. He will help tame the dragon within the avatar."

Zuko stared at ? disbelievingly. "So...you can really talk to spirits, huh?"

The older man bowed respectfully at Zuko. "I won't disappoint you. I've been working with the spirits for almost as long as I can remember. The Avatar will be cured. I will help him release the dragon..."

Until next time! :)

Last Edit: June 30 2012